Chapter Summaries

Professor Breen brought the students to an expanded classroom for a dangerous Defence Against the Dark Arts trial and required participants to sign a contract accepting its risks. As the students debated whether to take part, Malfoy asked if he could choose his teammates, but Amosta said he would assign the groups himself before inviting everyone to decide.

• Amosta led the students to an abandoned classroom and explained that second-years would face its hidden dark creature in pairs, while first-years would go in groups of three for ten minutes.
• Amosta presented a magical contract requiring secrecy, limiting each group to two attempts without outside help, and disclaiming responsibility for injury or death.
• Hermione objected that the contract violated the law, but Amosta insisted the trial was optional and said Dumbledore had approved his teaching plan.
• Harry told Ron that they should take the trial seriously, while students from each House weighed whether to participate.
• Malfoy asked if he could choose his teammates, and Amosta said he would assign the groups before inviting the students to decide.

Amosta sent Harry and Draco into a magically transformed classroom maze as the first participants in the dark-creature challenge. Snape warned them that he could not guarantee their safety, and the two boys entered separate passages despite their fear.

• More than half of the young wizards withdrew, and Amosta divided the remaining participants into teams.
• Amosta chose Harry and Draco to lead the way, and the two boys traded insults before entering the classroom.
• Harry and Draco found a vast, dark maze filled with cold mist and the stench of rotting meat.
• Snape appeared and told them that Amosta's contract prevented him from revealing what was inside or guaranteeing he could rescue them.
• Harry spotted thick brown liquid dripping from the wall, and Snape stopped Draco from fleeing.
• Harry and Draco each chose an entrance and disappeared into the maze.

Harry cautiously explored Professor Breen’s dark maze, crossed a foul underground channel, and began to believe the challenge was only a test of courage. A terrified scream from ahead shattered his confidence and left him facing an unknown danger.

• Harry stumbled through the cold, dim maze and pushed onward because he did not want to lose his contest of courage with Malfoy.
• Harry crossed a ten-foot channel by stepping on what he thought was a rotten log, while an unseen white hand emerged from the water behind him.
• Harry judged that he had reached the maze’s center and began to suspect Professor Breen had designed the challenge to frighten them rather than truly endanger them.
• Harry worried that Malfoy might have found a shortcut and prepared to hurry toward the exit.
• A shrill scream sounded from the darkness ahead, making Harry turn pale.

Harry returned to help Malfoy after hearing him scream in the maze, then discovered that Malfoy’s pursuer was a moving corpse. As Harry fled, Malfoy warned him that another corpse was nearby.

• Harry overcame his fear and hatred of Malfoy, called out to him, and found him bloodied and terrified.
• Malfoy said he had seen a corpse hanging overhead that was now chasing him, then fled while accusing Amosta Breen of being a dark wizard.
• Harry heard dragging footsteps and stayed to see what was approaching.
• A woman’s corpse in ancient, tattered clothes emerged from the darkness with a dagger plunged through its heart, and Harry ran.
• Malfoy appeared around a corner and shouted that there was another corpse nearby.

Harry and Draco were trapped between two Inferi in a burial chamber, and Harry tried to defend them while Draco lost hope. Snape intervened before the Inferi could attack, gave them Draught of Living Death, and carried them away.

• Harry realized the chained corpse Malfoy had seen was an Inferius and dragged Malfoy into the burial chamber as two Inferi closed in from opposite sides.
• Harry's Petrificus Totalus failed to stop one Inferius, and his Expelliarmus only forced the other back temporarily.
• Harry urged Malfoy to prepare to escape while he tried a Leg-Locker Curse, offering to sacrifice himself if it failed.
• Snape appeared, stopped the Inferi, and handed Harry and Draco Draught of Living Death to drink.
• Snape caught the exhausted Harry and Draco, carried them through the wall, and left the Inferi returning to their original positions.

Professor McGonagall confronted Amosta over his dangerous Defence Against the Dark Arts trial, while Dumbledore suggested letting the students decide whether to continue. In the Hospital Wing, Harry and Malfoy argued over Harry’s instinctive attempt to save him, and the chapter ended with their hostility intact.

• Professor McGonagall rebuked Amosta for exposing students to Inferi, and Amosta defended the trial as preparation for real danger.
• Dumbledore proposed returning the decision to continue the trial to the students after none of the participants solved its challenge.
• Hermione fainted after seeing an Inferius, Ginny restrained one with a Freezing Charm, and Neville wrestled one until Snape pulled him out.
• Madam Pomfrey treated the shaken students in the Hospital Wing, where Hermione remained terrified and Harry wondered what Malfoy knew about Amosta.
• Malfoy asked Harry why he had tried to save him, and Harry offered to explain if Malfoy revealed what he knew about Amosta.
• Malfoy denied that Harry had helped him, and he and Harry resumed their hostile argument.

Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Amosta asked the young wizards whether practical Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons should continue after their encounter with Inferi. Neville volunteered to continue, and Amosta left for his office, leaving the students to decide.

• Dumbledore told the young wizards that McGonagall and Amosta disagreed over whether the dangerous practical lessons should continue, and asked them to choose.
• Ginny worried that quitting would trigger punishment under their contract, so Amosta explained that Dumbledore could dissolve it without penalty.
• Hermione questioned whether young wizards could defeat the maze creature, and Amosta reminded her and Harry that they had overcome a Troll without powerful spells.
• Amosta encouraged the young wizards to face fear and hinted that he had already taught them how to deal with the Inferi, though Hermione could not work out the answer.
• Neville was the first to volunteer to continue, and McGonagall warned him not to do it merely to satisfy his grandmother.
• Amosta left the Hospital Wing for his office before every young wizard had given an opinion.

Amosta reassured the Weasley brothers that Ginny was safe, then sealed his office and used memory magic to explore forgotten memories. In the memory, Harry and Hermione wondered about Professor Breen’s hints and past travels, while Amosta emerged from the vision in silence.

• Amosta told Percy and the other Weasley brothers that Ginny and the other young wizards were unharmed and would leave the Hospital Wing in the morning.
• Amosta saw Snape leave his office after appearing to cry, then sealed the office with powerful protective magic.
• Amosta used memory magic to enter a forgotten memory without drawing it back into his mind.
• Harry and Hermione exchanged notes in the Hospital Wing as they tried to understand Professor Breen’s hints about the maze.
• Hermione wondered what Professor Breen had done before coming to Hogwarts, then fell asleep.
• Amosta dispersed the silver mist, returned to his desk, and sat in silence.

Amosta uncovered a future-altering memory and sensed that his time at Hogwarts was nearing its end. Meanwhile, he trained students to fight Acromantulas as Harry, Hermione, and Ron struggled to prepare for the maze and decide whether to give up.

• Amosta reflected on the astonishing memory he had uncovered and wondered how his actions had complicated the future.
• Amosta taught third-, fourth-, and fifth-years to petrify or stun a juvenile Acromantula from a distance, while warning that he would not rescue them if they failed.
• Fred and George bragged in the Gryffindor common room about crippling Acromantulas during their practical lesson, and Ron was relieved that his own lesson had not yet come.
• Hermione told Harry and Ron that defeating the maze’s Dark creatures would be difficult without practical experience, and Ron resolved to keep trying despite his doubts.
• Hermione complained that Professor Breen had let students withdraw from the challenge but would not let them consult information.

Hermione discussed her third-year electives with Professor Breen while Harry visited hoping to learn how to deal with Inferi. When Harry asked about Breen’s changed eyes, Breen explained that Dumbledore’s power had inspired him to find a way to survive and even defeat a wizard of Dumbledore’s caliber.

• Hermione brought the course list to Professor Breen and insisted she would take every elective despite his warning about conflicting classes.
• Harry told Professor Breen that he and Ron had chosen Divination and Care of Magical Creatures.
• Professor Breen said he had recently figured out why the Dark Witch had attacked him as a student but refused to reveal her identity.
• Harry asked about Professor Breen’s changed eyes, and Breen connected them to events from the night before Christmas in his fifth year.
• Professor Breen recalled Dumbledore demonstrating his power and said he believed even the greatest wizards could eventually be surpassed.

Amosta explained to Harry and Hermione that Dumbledore’s much larger magical reserves were the main obstacle to defeating him. He described how he had created an external magical reservoir in his eyes, though exhausting it would leave him reliant on costly potions to recover.

• Amosta asked Harry and Hermione to identify the gap between him and Dumbledore, and Hermione pointed to Dumbledore’s vast magical knowledge and skill.
• Amosta explained that a wizard’s magical reserves steadily increased with age, giving Dumbledore a major advantage over him.
• Amosta revealed that he had used alchemy to store naturally dissipating magic in his eyes and draw on it during intense duels.
• Amosta told Harry and Hermione that his eye color returning to normal would signal that he had used up his stored magic.
• Amosta explained that replenishing the reservoir quickly required expensive restoration potions, which consumed much of his earnings.

Harry told Professor Breen about the strange voice he had heard in the castle, and Hermione realized it was likely a snake speaking Parseltongue. Professor Breen opened the wall where Harry first heard it and found pipes behind it, leaving the trio with more questions about the snake’s route.

• Harry explained to Professor Breen how he had heard a strange voice leading him and his friends toward the third floor.
• Professor Breen suggested the voice belonged to a snake, and Hermione realized Harry could understand it because he was a Parselmouth.
• Harry, Hermione, and Professor Breen returned to the corridor where Harry had first heard the voice.
• Professor Breen sliced open the wall and revealed mold-covered pipes behind it.
• Professor Breen examined a thick pipe and cast "Point Me!" to investigate further.

Amosta failed to locate the Chamber of Secrets with magic and planned to search the library for clues, while Harry realized the monster in Tom Riddle’s memory did not look like a snake. The chapter ended with Riddle asking Harry to describe Professor Breen.

• Amosta explained that Slytherin’s protective spells had thwarted his attempt to find the Chamber and planned to research the creature and Hogwarts’s original plans in the library.
• Amosta invited Hermione to help search if he had not found an answer by the following Saturday.
• Ron told Harry he believed the Heir would stay quiet while Amosta remained at Hogwarts, but Harry still felt something was wrong.
• Harry remembered that the monster in Riddle’s memory had a massive body, many legs, glittering eyes, and pincers rather than a snake’s appearance.
• Harry wrote to Riddle in the notebook about Amosta’s theory and the creature he had seen in the memory.
• Riddle asked Harry to tell him more about Professor Breen.

Harry struggled with Riddle’s account of the attacks and prepared to enter Amosta’s Inferi maze for another practical lesson. As Harry and Draco entered together, Harry recalled Amosta’s warning about the darkness and realized it might be a clue.

• Harry ignored his earmuffs during Herbology and was knocked down by the Mandrakes’ screams.
• Hermione proposed researching whether a snake could kill and petrify victims, then asking Harry to surrender Riddle’s notebook if she found evidence.
• Amosta taught students about traps and Dark Wizards before leading them to the Inferi maze, where he offered fifty house points for defeating the creature.
• Dean and Ron speculated that Amosta had once been a Bounty Hunter, while Amosta privately recognized himself as a dark wizard hunted by Bounty Hunters.
• Amosta sent Harry and Draco into the maze together, and Harry remembered Amosta’s earlier warning about the darkness and realized it might be a hint.

Harry and Draco earned House points after overcoming Inferi, and Gryffindor celebrated Harry’s success. Days later, someone ransacked Harry’s dormitory and stole Riddle’s Diary, leaving Harry suspecting Dobby.

• Harry defeated the Inferi with a spell, and Amosta awarded him fifty points and Draco thirty for facing the creatures bravely.
• Amosta explained that fire could defeat Inferi, while the Gryffindor students celebrated their points and Harry’s achievement.
• Percy ended the common-room celebration, and Snape later deducted Gryffindor points while Wood intensified Quidditch practice.
• Harry and Neville found Harry’s dormitory ransacked, and Ron determined that someone had searched for a particular item.
• Harry realized Riddle’s Diary was missing, and he told Hermione he suspected Dobby had stolen it.

Amosta learned that Ginny Weasley had disappeared after the Chamber of Secrets claimed another victim, and he rushed to investigate the attack. As the Ministry prepared to take Hagrid away, Amosta decided to find out what Dumbledore was doing.

• Amosta practiced transforming a chair into a realistic werewolf with Professor Flitwick's advice.
• Penelope Crewe reported that Ginny Weasley had vanished and that a new threat had appeared on the wall near Mrs Norris's attack site.
• Amosta hurried to the third floor, where Professor Snape told him Dumbledore had found no clues and that a Freezing Charm had affected the Panoramic Telescopes.
• Amosta said the telescopes' recordings should still be in his office, then learned that Lucius Malfoy had brought in the Ministry and that Hagrid might be taken away.
• Amosta decided to confirm what Dumbledore was doing.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione discovered that a Basilisk was attacking students and realized Hagrid might be innocent. They went to question him, but Dumbledore and Minister Fudge arrived to take Hagrid away as a precaution, while Ginny remained missing.

• Hermione found a description of the Basilisk and explained how its deadly gaze had petrified Colin, Justin, and Mrs. Norris without killing them.
• Harry concluded that Riddle’s memory might have deceived him and insisted that Hagrid could know important information about the Chamber of Secrets.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the Gryffindor Common Room under Harry’s Invisibility Cloak and hurried to Hagrid’s home.
• Hagrid opened the door with a crossbow and, distracted by news of Ginny, struggled to host the three visitors.
• Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge arrived, and Fudge announced that the Ministry would take Hagrid away unless the real culprit was found.

Lucius Malfoy presented orders suspending Dumbledore and dismissing Amosta Breen, but Amosta argued he could remain as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor until a new headmaster took office. After the others left, Amosta addressed three hidden watchers in Hagrid's Hut.

• Hagrid begged Fudge not to send him to Azkaban as Lucius Malfoy arrived at the hut.
• Lucius told Dumbledore that all twelve Board of Governors members had signed an order suspending him.
• Dumbledore accepted the order but said Hogwarts would still help those who asked for it.
• Lucius presented Amosta with a dismissal order, but Amosta said only a headmaster could dismiss him and refused to leave before a new one took office.
• Dumbledore left, Fudge escorted Hagrid away, and Amosta called out to three people hiding in the hut.

Amosta learned that Harry, Hermione, and Ron had discovered Tom Riddle’s diary and connected it to the attacks in the Chamber of Secrets. He revealed that Tom Riddle was Voldemort, but with the diary gone they had no evidence to clear Hagrid or Dumbledore, and Ginny’s fate remained uncertain.

• Harry, Hermione, and Ron told Amosta how they had investigated the attacks and found Tom Riddle’s diary.
• Amosta recognized the diary as one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes and revealed that Tom Riddle was Voldemort’s original name.
• Harry concluded that Voldemort had opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years earlier and framed Hagrid.
• Hermione asked whether the Ministry could use the truth to help Hagrid and Dumbledore, but Amosta explained they had no evidence without the diary.
• Amosta deduced that Ginny was probably being drained by the diary and feared she might not survive if they waited until morning.

Amosta tracked Ginny’s movements and suspected the Chamber of Secrets was on the third floor, while Hermione arrived with news that Harry and Ron had found its entrance and gone to rescue Ginny. Amosta and Hermione set out to bring Ginny back.

• Harry blamed himself for Ginny’s capture, but Amosta and Hermione reassured him and Amosta warned him about the Basilisk.
• Professor McGonagall told Amosta that the Ministry would send Rufus Scrimgeour and Aurors to investigate Hogwarts the next day.
• Amosta reviewed his surveillance images and saw Ginny destroy the Panoramic Telescopes on the third floor before disappearing.
• Hermione told Amosta that Harry had remembered the student killed by the Basilisk died in a bathroom, and that Moaning Myrtle had helped them identify the entrance.
• Hermione said Harry and Ron had opened the Chamber of Secrets and gone ahead to save Ginny, so Amosta set out with Hermione to join them.